Reliability of Myotonometric Measurements and Their Associations with Motor Performance in Parkinson's Disease.

Authors

Lucía Latorre-Tomillo, Eduardo Villamil-Cabello, Noa Fogelson, Miguel Ángel Fernández-Del-Olmo

Published in

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland). Volume 26. Issue 20. Oct 10, 2026. Epub Oct 10, 2026.

Abstract

Myotonometry provides a non-invasive assessment of resting muscle mechanical properties, but its reliability and functional relevance in Parkinson's disease (PD) remain insufficiently established. This study examined the within-session intra-rater reliability of MyotonPRO measurements and explored their associations with clinical motor severity, gait, functional mobility, and manual dexterity in 24 people with PD assessed in the ON-medication state. Frequency, stiffness, logarithmic decrement, relaxation time, and creep were measured bilaterally in the biceps brachii, triceps brachii, tibialis anterior, and medial gastrocnemius. Reliability between two sets of five impulses was assessed using ICC(3,2), and associations were examined using Spearman correlations with Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate correction. Under the standardized same-session, same-rater protocol, all parameters showed good-to-excellent reliability point estimates (ICC = 0.823-0.988), although the precision of some estimates was limited by relatively wide confidence intervals. No significant associations were found with MDS-UPDRS III scores, Hoehn and Yahr stage, or Timed Up and Go performance. Several moderate nominal correlations were observed between lower-limb myotonometric parameters and preferred gait performance, and between triceps brachii parameters and Grooved Pegboard completion time (|r_s| = 0.410-0.488); however, none remained significant after false discovery rate correction. Thus, the reliability findings apply to the present standardized protocol, whereas the associations with motor performance remain exploratory and hypothesis-generating.

PMID:
42944273
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 27 Oct 2026.

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